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“I’ll get on to it right away.” Rowley frowned. “I can’t believe anyone would try to kill Sheriff Alton. She is well respected in town.”
“I’m very concerned about Sheriff Alton’s safety and if we’re going to find the maniac that ran her off the road, I’ll need everything you can remember about her cases over the last month or so.” He noticed a flush spreading over Rowley’s cheeks and smiled to reassure him. “Sometimes it’s the little things, the word on the street and the attitude toward her. People hold grudges for stupid reasons and the accident could have been an opportunistic pay-back.”
“There’s been nothing apart from the arrest of Josh Rockford and Dan Beal. They resisted arrest and Rockford had a few words to say to the sheriff. He is a real jerk and when she rejected his womanizing, he started to push his status as the mayor’s son.” Rowley smiled. “The sheriff had him up against the cruiser and handcuffed before he knew what had hit him.” He chuckled and his eyes sparkled. “When she patted him down, he made the usual smart remarks about giving her an excuse to touch him on purpose.”
Smart-ass. Kane raised a brow. “What did she do?”
“She threatened to call in a doctor to give him an internal examination, said he must be on drugs and carrying if he believed she was interested in him.” Rowley’s mouth spread into a wide grin and he refilled his coffee cup from the pot on the table. “If that happened, his teammates wouldn’t let him live it down. He is the captain of the Larks hockey team and it’s a respect issue. You should have seen the look he gave her—annoyed doesn’t come close.”
Motive enough to run her off the road, if he wanted to put her in her place. “I see. I’m going to pull up all the information you have on Josh Rockford and Dan Beal. When Sheriff Alton released them on Friday, did anything unusual happen? Words exchanged, threats made?”
“Oh yeah, pissed with her to the max. She refused to release them before ten.” Rowley dug a spoon into a plate of golden-crust apple pie à la mode. “They complained, saying they had to be at the stadium by eight or their coach would skin them alive.”
Kane shook his head. “I expect they had some explaining to do. In my day, arriving late would mean a season on the bench. It would seem being the mayor’s son has benefits after all.” He met Rowley’s amused gaze. “The sheriff mentioned the home game is this weekend.”
“Tonight.” Rowley grinned. “I’m looking forward to going.”
“Anything else unusual happen of late? What about during the door-to-door you did for Mrs. Woodward?”
“Nothing came up during my investigations. You’ll have to ask Daniels about the visits he made with Sheriff Alton to the ranches last week.” Rowley shrugged and glanced down, his dark lashes hiding his expression. “He hasn’t mentioned anything unusual and he loves to gossip.”
Susie, the waitress, sauntered up to the table with a paper sack and handed it to Kane.
“One slice of apple pie to go.” She gave him a long look and pouted her red lips, as if trying to gain his interest. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Deputy Kane?”
He dropped the bag on the table and smiled. “No, thank you. I would like to stay and try every item on the menu but we have to get back to the office.”
“Well then, enjoy the pie.” She turned and sashayed away.
The corner of Rowley’s mouth twitched.
“I guess she’s looking for a date for the dance tonight.” He grinned. “She’s sure taken a shine to you, sir.”
Note to self. Don’t ever come here alone. Kane stood, dropped notes on the table, and grabbed the pie. “Not one chance in hell.” He could see Susie out of the corner of his eye, twisting a lock of hair around one finger and wetting her lips in invitation. You are way too young for me.
Rowley gave him an appraising stare. “Don’t you like girls?”
Kane shook his head. “Nope. At the grand old age of thirty-five, I prefer women over twenty-one.” He strode toward the door, keeping his gaze anywhere but in Susie’s direction.
Eleven
Jenna threw more logs on the fire and stared at the sparks rising in the funnel of smoke and disappearing up the chimney. The recent call from Deputy Walters had her head spinning. Her new deputy sheriff had thrown his weight around the moment she had left and had her deputies working flat-out all day. In two minds about the idea of having a powerful deputy in charge in her absence, she considered the pros and cons. Having a deputy sheriff with considerable experience would mean the workload would lessen, but she would need to make it clear who was in charge. Countermanding her orders without consultation would be something she would have to speak to him about, and soon. Kane had canceled the twice-daily patrols she scheduled during the Larks home-game weekends to ensure the visitors pouring into town noticed a strong police presence. The hockey game came with a bunch of out-of-town troublemakers attending the match and her department was understaffed. Her deputies would have to pull double shifts tonight, although it did not take any persuasion to ask Rowley and Daniels to watch the game in uniform.
The after-match dance organized by the mayor at the town hall went off without a hitch most times with Deputy Walters stationed on the door. Her problem would be the men crowding into the Cattleman’s Hotel to drink after the game. Around closing time, she would have to count on Rowley to help her keep order because inebriated men often refused to take direction from the fresh-faced Daniels.
She dashed a hand through her hair and her mind slid to Kane. He would have my back, I’m sure of it. His solid presence by her side would make an impression on the crowd but how could she ask him to assist her? He would be exhausted after pulling a long shift with little or no sleep. She chewed on what was left of her fingernails, forcing her mind out of panic mode and into a modicum of order. The attempt on her life had unnerved her, and going back out there was wreaking havoc with her nerves.
If one of Viktor Carlos’s men found her out on the street, she might as well paint a target on her back. She doubted the locals would lift a finger to help her, not after the previous home-game debacle. After making a point of using diplomacy in disputes, she had pulled her weapon to keep control during an argument between two rival crowds of supporters in the Cattleman’s Hotel parking lot. In the end, Rowley and Daniels had pulled their nightsticks to gain control. The move caused an outcry of police brutality. It’s not as if I discharged my gun.
The buzz of the alarm on the front entrance broke into her thoughts. She moved down the hallway and peered at the bank of screens in her office. The sight of a black SUV with tinted windows had her reaching in the desk drawer for her backup weapon. The vehicle moved toward the house then veered off and slid into Kane’s garage. I’m an idiot. I should have recognized his car. Sh
e pressed one hand to her pounding heart and caught sight of her reflection in one of the blank flat-screens. Special Agent Avril Parker no longer existed, and in her place stood a younger, more vibrant person.
She had worked hard to perfect her new body. Six months of grueling exercises to change her body shape. After reconstructive surgery, her new face had a straight nose and fuller lips, and the fine wrinkles she hated had disappeared. The cosmetic surgeon had insisted on the addition of fake breasts and had somehow made her eyes appear wider. She wore a new hairstyle and now her own mother would not recognize her. She had turned thirty-two on her last birthday but the face looking back at her appeared ten years younger. Her commander’s voice drifted through her mind.
You’ll be safe. A new identity, a new face, and hiding in plain sight works. Don’t worry. Enjoy your life.
Don’t worry. What a load of horseshit, as if she could trust every man in her department. No matter how high up, people had their price. Her attention moved back to the screens to see David Kane trudging through the snow toward her house. She slipped the gun back into the desk drawer and moved down the hallway to greet him at the front door.
